In Brilliant Sun: Twilight Ficlets
by paynesgrey
Summary: These are short Twilight drabbles and ficlets of certain characters, various pairings and different themes. In-progress.
1. Impulse

AN: Prompt "Love" for switzerland100, Twilight contest community on LJ.

Pairing: Kate/Garrett

Spoilers: Breaking Dawn

Impulse

She wasn't really looking for a man now, but Garrett just happened upon her.

He said, "I'll follow you anywhere, woman." Kate always loved a challenge, even when his words seemed so impulsive after they first met.

She was never one to turn down the affections of a male – especially one that seemed so _permanent_.

"Why don't you follow me home?" She smiled, and he elatedly agreed. She leaned into him so close she could see the intricate shapes on his diamond face. "Let's just start with that."

Then, he followed her as she dragged him into an electric kiss.


	2. Old Love

AN: Written for the "Love" prompt at switzerland100 on Livejournal.

Pairing: Esme/Carlisle

Old Love

Each time he comes home she remains beautiful and new, and she still fills his heart, just as she did when he sank his teeth into her and made her his own.

Sometimes he feels regretful, but she assures him she's happy. She doesn't need to give birth like human women. He gives her the children she wants. It's enough; _their_ love is enough.

When their son finds his mate, they feel older for a second, but he meets her eyes and they both realize that some things won't change.

That an old love like theirs can still feel new.


	3. Prelude

AN: Done for the "First Kiss" theme at switzerland100 on Livejournal. Pairing: Renee/Charlie, pre-Bella.

Prelude

The moment he met her he knew she wasn't his type, but she smiled real nice and he loved her laugh.

Renee moved her body against his in a slow dance, wrapping her arms around his neck. She nuzzled against his cheek, and Charlie caught her lips in a breathless kiss.

He felt the spark when she moaned. It was like a precursor of the things to come – of precious moments that would be made between them, and of something else.

It was almost undefined, but in their kiss Charlie realized that nothing between them would ever remain the same.


	4. Play Time

AN: Written for the "Wishes" theme at switzerland_100.

Play Time

Bella didn't need to brave the question. Alice already perceived her wish. With her cherubic smile, Alice leaned into her, kissing her lips fervently and tugging at the constraints of Bella's clothes.

Alice's touches against her would never be the same, yet this didn't feel like betrayal. Love and family converged, and their closeness didn't even niggle at their core values.

They were playful and exploratory, and their mates rolled their eyes in amusement instead of being upset.

To creatures like them, such discourse seemed irrelevant anyway, and no one else had argued a better way to spend their day.


	5. First

AN: Written for the "Blood" prompt at switerland100 on LJ.

Character: Victoria

Rating: R, for language

First

She remembered the first time she tasted human blood. It was burning and thick and felt like nothing she could describe with words. She wanted to fly and fuck and dance and race cars all at the same time.

Before she could finish, she noticed her meal had been screaming. Her ears had been muted initially, filled with a loud cacophony of an arresting heart.

Victoria smacked her lips and tossed the quieted corpse to her feet. She smiled at her sire, and he approached her to lick the remnants of her meal.

The growl against her indicated his approval.


	6. Ritual

AN: Written for the "Blood" theme at switzerland_100 at livejournal.

Pairing: Jacob/Leah

Rating: PG-13

Ritual

Animal blood paints their naked bodies, and sometime during the middle of the night they change back. Jacob rises with blood in his mouth. He remembers when they feasted on lions and helped clean each other.

He looks down at her, and the thought occurs to him that never once is the ritual considered weird between them.

He leans down and licks the dried blood on her face. He stops when she wakes.

"Don't stop," she says, with heady eyes that reassure him. "I won't break from_ you_."

And within her warm kiss he tastes something much better than blood.


	7. Adaptation

AN: Written for the free theme at switzerland100 on Livejournal.

Characters: Bella, Charlie, Renee

Rated: G

Adaptation

Bella vividly remembered the day her parents separated, like a motion picture drowned in fluid grays and blues. She hated the way her father looked at her mother longingly, as if she knew he really didn't want to do this, but her mom had made up her mind anyway.

Her father was giving up, bowing out, and he was too damaged to put up a fight.

A thought scared her. Maybe there was nothing really to fight for.

Bella watched the cold awkward stares between them, and she promised herself that she'd never ruin her own love like that someday.


	8. Of the Father

AN: Written for the open drabble challenge at switzerland 100 on LJ.

Of the Father

She'd never grow old. She'd live forever and look just as she did today.

He'd always been afraid that Bella would grow up to be impulsive like her mother. When she moved in with him, he thought maybe she could be different.

But was this really the difference he wanted?

Sue held him at night. She reminded him the people they love will change just like the world changed, but she'd always be there for him.

Without Sue, Charlie doubted he'd accept this all on his own. He'd never have someone to remind him that his daughter wasn't truly gone.


	9. Of the Moon

AN: Written for browneyedmami on LJ for a drabble request meme.

Pairing: Jacob/Bella

Word Count: 293

Of the Moon

He slips into his Spirit Walk and finds her there. It's painful every time, but it's what he yearns to see. Mrs. Bella Black greets him, kissing him deeply and trailing her soft fingers over his warm chest. Sunlight illuminates their modest kitchen, and the sounds of children fill their house, breathing a sigh of life into it every time they dance around.

In this vision there is only happiness, and his truest desires are as real as if he was waking up from a cold sleep. There are no more monsters that threaten or tempt them. Rivalries and promises of the dark have been washed away by the love they share.

With a deep gasp Jacob comes back to the cold, harsh reality of his world. Billy is waiting for him outside the tent, and Jacob is always too scared to look into his eyes.

"I don't need to keep telling you that it's hard," his father murmurs, looking off into the sunset. Tonight Bella will be seeing Edward again, and Jacob is left at home to only grasp at visions of her. He misses her warm smile and natural scent.

"No, it just inspires me," he says with a confident grin. It's a forced happiness. Billy knows this. Jacob looks in the direction of the Cullen stronghold and sighs.

"I just have to try harder to reach her," Jacob says.

Billy doesn't say anything; he doesn't need to. A voice inside him is already screaming at him to wake up from this pointless dream. The truth is muddled, but Jacob still thinks the future is uncertain.

He escapes back into the tent, and returns to her – to a Bella who loves him but only exists in a realm he cannot touch.


	10. Little Has Changed

AN: Written for the "Bite" theme on switzerland_100.

Pairing: Edward/Bella  
Rated: R  
Word Count: 100

Little Has Changed

His lips trailed up the cool flesh of her leg. He stopped between her thigh and calf, and he closed his eyes and left a soft, lingering kiss. In this new form, Bella's scent changed only a little, but she still seemed so warm and fragile like the first day he met her.

She writhed under his touch, and he suckled on the juncture of her inner thigh. When his teeth broke skin, she moaned in pleasure.

Bella hadn't changed much to him, even as a vampire. Edward could taste her blood – no longer in fear, but out of love.


	11. Playing with Fire

AN: Written for the "Bite" theme at switzerland_100 on LJ.

Pairing: Jacob/Rosalie

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 100

Playing with Fire

A strangled sigh escaped his lips, but he was smiling. She broke away from his neck, leaving behind a bubble of blood pouring from a gash.

Jacob remembered the snarl as her teeth ripped his skin. It was only a minute ago; now she looked at his wound with a hungry sneer.

"I told you not to test me." He weakly laughed at her, but she didn't find it funny.

Even though they both had someone, he loved her angry fire. He'd heal up fine and stupidly tease her again.

Jacob wondered where Rosalie would bite him the next time.


	12. Harbinger

Characters: Alice Cullen

Rating: G

Word Count: 100

Notes: Written for the "Twilight" theme at Switzerland 100 on LJ

Harbinger

Warm hues hover over the darkening sky.

Alice Cullen has seen things change instantly, like the day into night, or winter into spring. Without warning, someone's heart stops beating. A wild car crashes and blood paints a once dull pavement.

The Cullen household lives but does not breathe. Time repeats, but things rarely change.

An owl hoots and there's blood circling the waxing moon. Alice's mind crackles with foresight.

She glances to Edward and then back to the moon. She's the only one who knows so far.

Tomorrow, this endless cycle breaks like an egg. Edward will meet Bella Swan.


	13. New Haven

AN: Written for the "Beach" theme at pack_100 on Livejournal

Pairing: Jacob/Leah implied

Rating: PG

New Haven

She can't run in the water, but she doesn't hear the voices either. She's come here before to submerge herself in the deep ocean and drown out the hurtful, pitying thoughts.

She no longer needs this sanctuary; she has a new pack now.

Leah rises from the water and feels her troubles spill over the beach and dry under the sun. Jacob waits for her with a playful smirk. She shivers as his glance skims over her body.

"Ready?" he asks, and Leah laughs. Eyes locking, they strip their meager clothes and dash away into the heart of the forest.


	14. Blood Candles

AN: Written for the "Blood" challenge at coven_100 on LJ.

Pairing: Esme/Carlisle  
Rating: G

Blood Candles

Esme had her domestic hobbies, from maintaining their tidy, pristine home to keeping a nurturing eye over the youngsters in their family.

She greeted her husband as he came home late from work that night, her approach steady as he opened his arms and soaked her into his embrace.

Carlisle sniffed and closed his eyes as a light smile came over his face. Esme almost forgot about the succulent, metallic aroma in the air from one of her recent candle concoctions.

"What's that wonderful smell?" he asked, taking another long, enamored breath.

"Mountain lion," she replied, suddenly sensing his hunger.


	15. Interim

AN: Written for the "wolf pack" theme at switzerland100 at LJ.

Pairing: Jacob/Leah

Word Count: 100

Rated: R

Interim

She didn't mean to interfere. He cried and raged and she couldn't stand it. Something was broken inside him, something impatient to be fixed. So she slipped her arms around him, hugging him, kissing away his tears and lightly pulling away the clothes that constrained his strength. She let him throw her to the ground, flip her over and fill her – letting her body become the pacifier to his wildness, his unfulfilled carnality.

Leah gave herself to him. No questions, no regrets – a beginning to this burning interim that would never last.

A clandestine vow as part of his pack.


	16. Outsider

AN: Written for the "wolf pack" theme at switzerland_100 on Livejournal.

Characters: Jacob, Rosalie, Leah, Seth, slight Jacob/Rosalie

Word Count: 100

Spoilers: Breaking Dawn

--

Outsider

Leah and Seth glared at their visitor.

Jacob felt the cracking tension in the air. Rosalie's dark eyes marked him as prey.

"This is stupid," Leah complained. Jacob knew she'd never understand.

Rosalie was not part of their pack.

"You don't have to fight _her_," Leah snarled. "Fight me instead."

Jacob shook his head and readied his position. His opponent gnashed her teeth. He blinked and charged as he caught a flash of her blonde hair, rustling in the wind.

_I can't train with you fairly, Leah,_ Jacob thought, _because you don't hate me enough for it to feel real._


	17. Sunlight to Dispel the Ghosts

AN: Written for the A-Z meme on LJ. This is for browneyedmami, who wanted JacobxBella for "Hope".

Sunlight to Dispel the Ghosts

Bella thinks that if she teeters at the stone edge, she'll feel the warmth of hope again, of love, of a place she could burrow into and cocoon herself within warmth that shields her from the harsh winter.

She can hurl herself off a thousand cliffs. Her body can crash into the wild sea numerous times, taking a piece of her as it becomes tame under a waning moon.

But her true desires will always be just out of her reach.

In her almost final moments, she sees ghosts that aren't real, and they feel bitter and cold like dead hands and stalled hearts.

But hope, she finds, is warmth that watches her from the high sky and showers her with the light of the sun.

Jake pulls her from the sea, angry, but his heart is in the residue on her lips and within the borrowed air in her lungs. She meets his eyes and sees his concern, and as he pulls her into a deep embrace, she hears his heart beating frantically and feels the heat of his body seep into her skin. Her thoughts are dizzy and disjointed, but she swears that beyond the caress of waves at their feet, she hears him crying.

He yells at her, but she does not need to hear his words to already know that he's right.

Death slips out of her fingers again, and Jacob brings her back to life. She inhales deeply, her eyes going wide as she stands on her shaky legs and blood starts to pump in her veins again.

She's still alive, more alive than she's ever wanted to be in a long time. Jacob wraps his arm around her, and they walk back to her house. He promises to make her a warm meal after she gets a fresh change of clothes and puts herself to bed.

When she's home and chicken soup settles in her stomach, she feels the dry warmth of the blankets encase her, and she looks up and sees Jacob there, becoming one with her weight on the bed. He watches her with worry, but he's hopeful. His hands flutter through her hair, and she feels his lips against her forehead as he leans down.

She closes her eyes and feels the shadow of his kiss linger, the warmth of his touch hovering on the edges of her nerves.

The steady sound of Jake's breathing keeps the ghosts away, and his loyal presence becomes the reminder for her to wake up and live better and stronger in the morning.


	18. Deeply Now

AN: Written for the "woods" theme at pack_100 on LJ.

Pairing: Jacob/Bella

Rating: PG

Deeply Now

She inhales deeply and nuzzles closer into his chest. He's transformed, but he's still Jake to her – _her_ Jake. She exhales harshly, a bitter shadow hanging in her throat of another love that left her, but he's not here.

Jake curls around her protectively. His fur and scent remind her of the woods. They are caught in this moment, and her past is muzzy, fading into the forest mists.

The only thing Bella can feel is _now_, the comfort of what is already current, of loyalty that feels like Indian summers and warms her heart like a lazy afternoon sun.


	19. Left Behind

AN: Written for "willful" theme at fanfic_bakeoff on Livejournal. Pairing: Leah/Jacob. Rating: PG. Word Count: 267.

Left Behind

A moment ago, her hands had been shaking with anger. She had dashed off from the scene with a shudder. Still in her mind, she was disgusted and horrified, and every day Leah told herself that Jake was making a mistake.

She couldn't fight him on it, though; he was her alpha and the man who had become her best friend. No matter how much Leah wanted to deny it (realizing her heart had loved, hoped and broken a second time), the more she wanted to run – fast through the forest and through the barren winter Canadian plains.

Seth found her back in their lands, and he placed his hands over hers with a light squeeze. His comfort only seemed to caress the surface. Her wounds, regrets and disappointments burrowed too deep that only one person could reach. She felt foolish, of course; joining Jacob's pack never meant to turn out like this

Despite her own heart, she still remained with him. Jake's love for the vampire hybrid child was predestined, and she felt betrayed, yes, that they had both scorned imprinting once upon a time.

Instead, she was left alone with her scorn. Leah was stubborn; however, no one would dare change that about her. Jake knew that too – _his willful Leah_, he would say, and he knew that despite his change of heart she'd never leave as long as she still meant something to him, or when he looked at her with that same wild and unbridled grin.

Yes, she would stay by his side regardless, whether Jake ever returned her unchanging love or not.


	20. The Presence of Mind

AN: For the "mind over matter" prompt in my A-Z meme for latex_muffins. Characters: Edward+Seth. Rating: PG. Word Count: 422.

The Presence of Mind

Training with the shifter wolves can be trying enough, but even in casual settings they tend to drain on Edward's mind if he's with them for too long.

He's exhausted; moreover, he's irritable with Jacob. Though, their mutual hatred is a thing of the past, there are instances with the wolf that remind Edward of his initial dislike of him; however, the cause of his current annoyance is something new.

He's been preparing for it, but Renesmee is older now. She's grown into a lovely young woman, and hearing Jake's crude thoughts about his own daughter is enough to take back the vital truce he has with all the wolves.

Edward doesn't, and there's no real danger of it. He may want to punch him once in awhile, but he stops himself. He does have manners after all (even if Edwards believes Jacob sometimes does it on purpose). He tempers himself, but today, at this rowdy barbecue with the Quileutes and Bella's family, he can barely hear his own thoughts among all the primal grumblings. It doesn't help that he's also hungry and hasn't eaten in a few days.

Concentrating on fortifying his mental walls, Edward is suddenly soothed by an outside, calming energy. His thoughts have distracted him so much that he doesn't smell him before he realizes who it is.

"Hello, Seth," Edward says with a grateful smile, and his good friend's clear, innocent mind is the salve to his mental wound. Seth leans closer, claps a small hand on Edward's shoulder, and he whispers with light concern, "You look like you could use a bite to eat."

"Am I that obvious?" Edwards says with a sigh. He turns to Seth at his side, still grateful there is one wolf among the group that doesn't make his teeth chatter or put his senses on edge.

"I'm a bit hungry myself, and despite what Leah boasts, her chili is not that great," he says, and Edward chuckles softly.

"Well, then, if you don't mind..." Edward gestures to the forest and sends Bella a look, who nods at him and smiles when she sees him with Seth. He assumes she can sense his hunger...and his poor temper.

Seth grins, and he's already pulling off his shirt as he bounds to the thicket of trees. Edward watches him, feeling rescued from this nightmare, and he focuses on Seth's mind alone as they head out for the hunt.

_Thank goodness for Seth_, Edwards thinks appreciatively, or their family barbecue may have turned ugly.


End file.
